Cronulla skipper Paul Gallen to fight $50,000 fine for abusive tweet

  • Gallen slugged with heaviest possible code of conduct fine
  • ‘How can they justify it? Blokes get $10,000 for an assault’
Paul Gallen
Paul Gallen is outraged at the severity of his punishment. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Cronulla captain Paul Gallen says he won’t be taking a $50,000 fine meted out by the NRL lying down.

Gallen, who was slugged with the hefty fine on Monday for an abusive tweet directed towards NRL administrators, felt he had no choice.

“It’s unbelievable - I’ve got to fight it,” Gallen told News Corp.

“The last time I didn’t fight something (the Asada ban) I regretted it; I will this time.

“How can they justify it? Blokes get fined $10,000 for assault. Others have been arrested and not been fined anything.”

Gallen has had a tough year: he’s also currently serving a 12-week Asada-imposed anti-doping suspension along with Sharks teammates from the 2011 season.

Like his fellow players, he chose not to fight the Asada ban.

News Corp had on Sunday reported that Gallen was suffering depression, but at a press conference on Monday to promote an upcoming boxing bout he refused to detail any specific problems he had.